The story takes place in New York City with a modern and corporate twist. Hamlet in this film, is depicted as a lonely, twenty-something aspiring artist, who father was the head of the "Denmark Corporation," had passed away some time ago.
The ghost first visits Hamlet in this version, in his apartment, where he appears on the television screen. The film being set in the modern technological era, with cell phones and credit cards, this seemed appropriate. The ghost in the film appears as a specter. As in life, the Ghost is high up in the corporate ladder at the Denmark Corporation, he is dressed to fit. He commands his son in the same manner in his death as in his life. The level of drama is notched down, and it has an element of thrill in it. The ghost continues to meet Hamlet in an abandoned warehouse, being adapted to the modern day world as a place no one would go to (Burnett, 2003). However, the character of the Ghost lacks the driver and anger that has been displayed by the character in the play script and the version of the film made by Branagh in 1996. The Ghost wasn't convincing in his role as a spirit pursuing vengeance for his murder. It was timid compared to the Ghost depiction in Branagh's Hamlet (1996).
Analysis of Gregory Doran's interpretation of the Ghost in Hamlet 2009:
The 2009 version of Hamlet was directed by British-born Gregory Doran, as an adaptation of the 2008 modern-dress stage production of the play. The film grabbed much critical acclaim with David Tennant (the actor who played Hamlet), being said to have given a generation defining performance (Lusher, 2009). However, the talk of the town is the casting of Patrick Stewart...
The ghost in the film is depicted as Claudius's own mirror image. That is, the ghost is another side of Claudius that appears in the mirror. The director wants to portray here that the Ghost or Claudius's brother was a part of him, and that in killing him; he killed a part of himself. In this manner, Claudius is never truly alone. He is haunted too, through mirrors, by the ghost of his deeds. Hence, mirrors form a major feature of the film, with the floors being black and mirrored, reflecting people's images back to them. What is different over here is the physical interaction between the ghost and Hamlet. With the ghost grabbing and hugging him, the
norms of ghosts and paranormal creatures that have been set by precedent films were shaken up.
The Ghost appears as a form of Claudius, stepping out of mirrors. The Ghost has more
liberty in the film with its fury being let out through emotions that were translated into actions, whereby it could grab things and persons. The character's
portrayal was more diabolical than in the version directed by Michael Almereyda in 2000, who also tried to modernize the character in his version of the film. However, Doran outdoes Almereyda in this regard, with the Ghost being more involved with other characters in the film, playing a bigger role in the lives of Hamlet and Claudius. The Ghost is different from that of Branagh's, with a sinister aspect to it. None of the Ghosts depicted in the previous movies, had been shown as sinister. Branagh's came close, with the character bordering evil, due to the level of rage it displayed in the scenes it appears.
Works Cited
Burnett, M.T. (2003). "To Hear and See the Matter": Communicating Technology in Michael Almereyda's "Hamlet" 2000. University of Texas Press.
Ebert, R. (1997). Hamlet. Chicago Sun Times.
Goldman, P. (2001). Hamlet's Ghost: A Review Article. Anthropoetics - the Journal of Generative Anthropology .
Heroajax. (2008, July 10). Top 10 Greatest Shakespeare Plays. Retrieved from List Verse: http://listverse.com/2008/07/10/top-10-greatest-shakespeare-plays/
Lusher, T. (2009). David Tennant's Hamlet -- what did you think?
London,…
